I wanted to take a moment on this Mother’s Day to recognize the four young ladies of MTV’s Teen Mom. We started this site a little over three years ago and have been covering the 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom shows from their inception. Since that time we have built up quite a large following of fans of the show, and also since that time we ourselves have become big fans! So, I thought I might take a break from arrests, rumored break-ups, spring break partying, Facebook feuds and shark fishing to spread a little love and a lot of admiration for Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell, Farrah Abraham and Amber Portwood.
First up is Maci Bookout – mother of the imperviously joyful and wondrous (and I’m sure a perpetual handful) Bentley. It seems like forever ago that she was still infatuated with the downright lovely (but otherwise not very helpful) baby daddy Ryan. (As a matter of fact, the only person who had a bigger crush on Ryan than Maci was Dr. Drew!)
The thing I’ve admired most about Maci has been her mature, no-nonsense approach to being a teen mother. She was in a terribly tough situation and you could tell it was a huge weight on her shoulders, yet she never allowed herself (on camera at least) to get caught up in petty drama. She showed a great deal of strength but was also willing to share her weaker moments, all while continuing to pushing toward those things that would make her and her son’s life better.
This strength made her perhaps the most “critically acclaimed” mom on either series. But, it is this admiration for Maci that has inspired tons of detractors and critics! I read negative comments all the time about how “Maci ain’t so great!” HUH?!? I am constantly amazed at the lengths these “haters” will go to try to bring these girls down!
It appears now that Maci and her “new” man Kyle King are happy together and many believe we may be seeing a proposal at the end of season 3. Congratulations to you Maci and to you as well Kyle – I really don’t think Bentley could have asked for a better mom and dad!
Next up we have Farrah Abraham. Farrah, perhaps more so than any of the other girls, epitomizes what this show is about: high school girls being forced to abandon their unencumbered lives and mature almost overnight in order to deal with the responsibilities of motherhood. And, as Dr. Drew often points out, very few teen mothers get any support from the father of their children and this was true for Farrah in a uniquely painful way because the father of her daughter Sophia, Derek Underwood, died tragically in a car crash at the age of 18.
Here’s a paragraph from my Season 2 Finale Recap post that expresses my admiration for Farrah’s growth on the show:
Farrah seems to be the Teen Mom that has made the most progress in Season 2. Not only has she made steps towards repairing the damaged relationship with her mother, Debra Danielson, but she has also allowed herself to begin the grieving process for her deceased former boyfriend and father of her child, Derek Underwood.
Farrah was a very attractive and popular high school cheerleader on top of the world when she got pregnant. She has shared the implosion of that reality with us as she boldly (and perhaps a bit naively) confronted the realities associated with gaining her own independence – paying rent, getting a job, buying a car…
The experiences (which included some failures) seemed to have a humbling effect on Farrah. But, humility is a part of maturity and I think learning that humility allowed Farrah to not only open up about Derek’s death but also to be willing to find common ground with her mother. And now I think Farrah is in a position to be hugely successful! She seems to be the most ambitious of the Teen Moms, perhaps looking to be reality television’s next Bethenny Frankel with a business empire that includes a restaurant, books and a modeling career.
And daughter Sophia is a healthy, beautiful little girl that should benefit from her mom’s inevitable successes, as evidenced by the photo above of Farrah and her together celebrating Sophia’s second birthday!
Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra are an amazing success story. They were crippled by a home environment that to describe as unhealthy would be an understatement. There are many that still deride these two for giving their daughter Carly up for adoption (including Catleynn’s mom on occasion), but the act was nothing short of heroic in my book. It doesn’t matter how mature and admirable these two teenagers were, there was only so much they could do for Carly in their situation, and it was clear to them (and most anyone else) that the best thing for Carly would be to grow up in a better environment.
Some critics (and lots of haters) have asked why MTV continues to feature Catelynn and Tyler but to me their struggle to rise out of the toxic reality they were born into is nothing short of compelling. This show is about the lives of teen mothers and that’s exactly what we get with Catelynn, even though her struggles (aside from the emotional and psychological ones) don’t revolve around her child. Hers is the story of adoption and I think it is a brilliant addition to the show.
So Catelynn I hope you are enjoying this day as well because it is just as much yours as any other mom’s! I know it has been difficult but know that some of us think the tough decisions you have made make you an absolutely fantastic mother! Stay strong and stay focused on the future – both yours and Carly’s. don’t ever forget that it was those futures that shaped your decisions and those futures that will eventually prove you chose correctly!
Amber Portwood, you my girl have had a rough time! Of all the girls you have clearly had the most difficulties adjusting to the responsibilities of being a mother, and even at the end of Season 2 it wasn’t clear if you’d ever be able to handle them. It’s obvious you have anger issues, as you have admitted yourself, and I think it’s great that you are seeking counseling. (Something I’d like to point out to critics of Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 that probably wouldn’t have happened if Amber had not been on the show.)
Despite all of these issues it seems obvious to me that you care a lot about your daughter and want only the best for her. I sincerely hope you’re able to overcome your demons and be the mother I know you really want to be and Leah really needs.
As a celebrity site that covers Teen Mom extensively we are obligated to report on the stories making headlines on any given day, which as you probably know are usually not very favorable. I want to clarify once again that we are big fans of the show and of Maci, Catelynn, Farrah and even Amber. Though we do report on tabloid stories and rumors, we usually identify them as such – quoting the sources and often offering our own opinions as to whether or not the story may or may not be true. And sometimes we may have a little fun in the form of some Photoshopped images or humorous references, but we try to never be hateful in our coverage. As a matter of fact, if anything, we’ve become rather defensive of all eight girls from both incarnations of the show!
And speaking of Teen Mom 2, I was initially going to combine the girls from Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2 into a single post, but that was before I realized what a massive undertaking it was so I will move on after this with my “Happy Mother’s Day” to Leah, Chelsea, Kailyn and Jenelle so stay tuned!
UPDATE – Here it is! Whew – that took a while!
